[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 40 (Thursday, April 14, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 14, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
     THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF SENATOR DOLE'S FIRST SENATE STATEMENT

  Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. President, and Members of the Senate, today is the 
25th anniversary of Senator Dole's maiden statement on the Senate 
floor. On April 14, 1969, a young, newly elected Bob Dole rose to 
address the Senate for the first time.
  The subject of his statement then says a lot about Bob Dole then and 
now. It was a topic of enduring and personal interest to him, and one 
to which he has devoted an immense amount of time and energy in his 25 
years of Senate service.
  Bob Dole spoke, of course, about the abilities of those who were in 
1969 generally called handicapped Americans.
  It was not just Senator Dole's first Senate statement; it was more 
than that. It was a groundbreaking event in the Senate as well, because 
for the first time this body was asked to focus its attention in a 
systematic manner on the broad issue of national policy toward disabled 
Americans.
  He addressed the full spectrum of disability issues in that first 
statement.
  He spoke of the rights of persons with disabilities to receive a 
complete education, to hold a job, to get health insurance, to 
participate in recreational activities.
  He presented a compelling case for the Federal Government's 
responsibilities in this area and offered a legislative proposal to 
that end.
  He spelled out, in 1969, much of the legislative agenda which he 
subsequently and successfully pursued with other Senators over many 
years.
  Senator Dole has never made much of the fact that he, himself, has a 
disability as a result of serious war injuries.
  Instead, he has used his very formidable abilities to make it 
possible for all disabled Americans to achieve to the peak of their 
potential, as every American should have the right to do.
  His voice remains today uniquely persuasive on the subject, because 
he has always been able to speak of disabled Americans as ``us,'' not 
``them.''
  On the anniversary of that statement, I wish to draw the Senate's 
attention to it and to congratulate my colleague and friend, Bob Dole, 
for his many successes in working for the rights of disabled Americans 
and to wish him success in his future endeavors in every area.

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